“Fist of all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” ~ Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
You are making it all up.
No one wants to be chronically ill. No one wants to plod through life in those heavy shoes. In sickness and in health, through thick and thin, in good times and in bad, the familiar words go. To be doubted by the very people that we expect to love us, it crushes the soul. Don’t give up on us. Hope for thyroid disease is real but we need you to have hope too. When you become chronically ill, you lose people, family members and friends too. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. It is hard to explain what is going on with your health when you don’t understand it yourself. It’s even harder to explain it to someone who has never climbed into your thyroid skin and walked around in it. Until you do, you really have no idea. And you really don’t want to know. Just ask a thyroid person and they will tell you. Don’t judge.
Take one pill a day and you’ll be fine.
The day you realize that your doctor is not going to get you well, that you’ve been declared “normal” when you feel anything but, changes you. It shatters the image you once held dear that doctors will swoop in to save you from illness. It can take going to 20 doctors until you finally find the one that helps and, even then, some people never find that great doctor. The good doctors may practice far away from where you live or they may require payment out of pocket that costs far too much for your budget. There is one type of thyroid medication typically prescribed but that doesn’t work for everyone and often times doctors are unwilling to consider the alternatives that may make someone feel better.Too many doctors are missing critical pieces to the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease. It’s not that simple. It’s actually far too complicated.
You are a hypochondriac.
When cells all over the body have receptors for thyroid hormone, every part of the body can be pummeled to the ground by thyroid disease. It is not uncommon for thyroid patients to be taking a whole bathroom cabinet full of different prescription medications for every disease known to man from heart disease to diabetes to depression to fibromyalgia. And it may be all because their thyroid is not well treated. In this day and age, we expect modern medicine to have all the answers, but it doesn’t when it comes to thyroid disease. No, we are not junkies or pill poppers or whatever you call us. We are surviving. That’s what we are doing.
You are lazy.
Thyroid fatigue is not normal fatigue.This is a wretched fatigue that no amount of sleep can repair. You can sleep 5 hours or 15 hours and still be utterly exhausted the next day. The strongest people are not those who show strength in front of you but those who fight battles that you know nothing about. Let me see you get through each day while carrying the heavy load of thyroid disease on your back. We are not lazy. We are the exact opposite, in fact. And until you understand that, you will never truly understand.
You are fat.
First, let’s get one thing straight. Stop judging people by the size of their body. That just has to stop. But while I’m at it, let me explain what you clearly don’t know. You can exercise every single day and go on every single diet and still gain weight with a thyroid problem. Thyroid disease can lower your metabolism. It can add a strange, heavy, thick fat all over your body, that I call “thyroid fat”. It can bring your body temperature down low and cause water retention that makes you bloated especially in your abdomen, face, legs, feet, arms, and hands.
You are selfish.
Taking time to get thyroid healthy. Resting when your body needs rest. Knowing when your plate is full and that you’ve reached maximum. Becoming more aware of what’s really worth your energy. Having the strength to say NO. Removing the things, and even people, that are toxic in your life. Finally doing what’s best for you. We have seen what the bottom looks like. Now we are ready to see the top. We have faced the ultimate choice of living or dying, and we have chosen to live our best and most courageous life. That’s not selfish. That’s called loving ourselves. Come on. Try climbing into my thyroid skin and walk around in it for a while because then, and only then, will you truly understand. If you can’t be kind, please, oh please, just be quiet.
Dana, can you tell me more about what you call “thyroid fat”? Normal lab numbers but have so many of the 300 signs of hypo that I am going to find out more now!! I just know something hormonal is happening to me. I have gained +50# in two years with no changes in diet and the fat is thick…noticably to me…a change I noticed but never mentioned it to anyone because I thought I was nuts. Your terminology hit home but now I want to know more. Thank you.
Try finding a functional medicine doctor who will test your hormones and neurotransmitter function. I recently found a chiropractor who is doing me wonders. My GP was not at all alarmed about a 14 lb weight gain in just 1 year! She said I was probably just eating too many carbs. Functional medicine doctor agreed that was not normal. Ran test and is currently treating me with supplements. He is treating my overall endocrine system. He says your Thyroid does not just stop working. Your body stops cooperating. This will not let me post his videos. Search Vyas functional med doc.
Hello, like many many others, my labs are within normal range. However I still have many symptoms of hypothyroidism. My hair is falling out, my skin is extremely dry and wrinkly, my stomach is abnormally large, brain fog, extreme fatigue, and on and on. I also have a pituitary tumor that drs say does not effect my thyroid(I think they’re wrong) but anyway I would like to know what kind of dr I need to go to for help. Please, help, thank you.
Try a functional medicine doctor. I have recently found much needed relief from a chiropractor that practices functional medicine. The change is great.
Try testing for thyroglubin quantitative and thyroid peroxidase (Anti-tpo)Ab
Hi, I understand what you are saying completely. Every time I have my labs done they are normal. However, I stayed tired all the time, I could literally go to sleep standing. It is tough when no one understands. some think you are lazy or over exaggerating your symptoms, but they just do not understand. Thanks for all the info everyone!
Thank you so much for this article (spot on!), and your incredible dedication to helping others w/thyroid issues. 🙏. I have Hashimotos & follow AIP protocol, started 3 yes ago & did great. Then my husband was in near fatal plane crash w/months in hospital, you can only imagine the stress! I can’t seem to regain my health back, no matter what supplements, AIP, etc. I’m so discouraged…I vacillate between hypo – hyper symptoms. If you have any insight I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much again for your heart & research, so so helpful!
I was miss diagnosed for 20 yesrs! Doctor said I was DEPRESSED, not me. Went to Chiropractor which ran a test that proved hypothyroidism, showed test to doctor and his reply, not that bad!
I was so disappointed. Found an endocrinologist she put me on synthroid but I did not feel better in 6 months! She added another drug and my financial brain was gone! I called her and she said just quit taking the additional med and continue with synthroid even though I did not feel better. Went to 2 more docs with the same results, no help or change. I tried eating 800 calories for a month, lost 1 pound, never cheated. My chiropractor was shocked but not surprised
I finally went to a natural doctor and she prescribed nature throid which originally made me feel great but after 6 months, the great feeling is fading. I eat clean Shape program from doctor. My testosterone level is next to nothing and libido is gone. I just married the man and love of my life!
Cannot take HRT mom died from this, dad died from soft tissue sarcoma and aunt multiple myeloma.
I wish I could find someone to me. SOS
Hi. My name is Cheyenne. My mother had thyroid disease and she has no thyroid. She takes medicine everyday for it. Some people in our family dont realise how important it is. #thyroidisastruggle
I feel that people around me does not realize how important medication is. I do not have a thyroid and it took a while to find the dosage for me. When it as too much I cried over everything for weeks and then I would cry because I was so upset over crying all the time. No one will ever fully understand what thyroid problems can cause unless they experience it for themselves.
When I comb/brush my hair there’s always hair in the sink. Even my hair stylist noticed that I’m losing hair. She can see the hair falling out when she washes my hair. My doctor did blood work and it shows I’m in normal limits. I take 50 mcg of Levothyroxine everyday. It’s very frustrating.
Hi Michelle,
Did your doctor do an actual full thyroid panel? Free T3, Free T4, Reverse T3, Both antibodies test, TSH. I was left very hypothyroid for over twenty years by a doctor who said my labs were fine but he only checked the TSH which is almost useless. My new doctor did a full panel and is giving me ten times the thyroid (Cytomel) one and a half years later I am finally feeling well after over twenty years of hell. My bald patches have filled in and my previous straw hair is now getting very nice and shiny. A functional medicine doctor is what you need and which I now have. I live in Canada but if you are in the U.S. , most of the states you can order your own labs and buy Natural Desiccated Thyroid (NDT) from a health food store. NDT has all the thyroid hormones a healthy thyroid produces. They are T4, T3, T2, T1 and Calcitonin. Many people don’t do well on Synthroid because they have trouble converting the storage form T4 to the active form T3 so they are still hypo. Sorry to say but like my previous doctor, your doctor doesn’t know what he’s doing. You should check out the Facebook thyroid group “Adrenal Fatigue and Thyroid Care” I hope you can find someone who can give you your life back. Good luck.
Geez, my phone changed life-affecting to life-saving and I didn’t notice in my previous comment. The fog is real.
I’m a male who is dealing with hypothyroidism. While, according to my doctor(s), I don’t fit the profile, I have it and it took some time for me to be diagnosed. My TSH levels were through the roof at 8.3, and my doctor at that time thought it was an inaccurate result. After all, I was thin (genetic advantage plus a life of distance running) and was male, although in my middle ages. My condition may have been caused by long term exposure to chemicals while in the Marine Corps, stationed at Camp Lejuene. I deal with other health issues from this as well. But this article, it describes my life so well. I work long hours, and just go home and sleep on workdays. On my days off, it takes me an entire day to recover just to leave the house. I’ve always been pretty easy going, but find myself getting frustrated easily when so exhausted now. This disease is life-saving. It hurts. It affects relationships when I date someone who can’t understand that I’m unable to go out and do things with her on workdays or on my first day off. So, yes, it is very isolating.
This is near to my heart. I struggle daily with the mamagement of thyroid disease. I lost 5 pregnancies to hypothryoidism and once it was identified and treated I carried to full term 2 pregnancies back to back. I currently have 2 little ages 1 & 2 🙂
Climb on in and see how tired tired REALLY is. Climb on in and see how sore my body gets from the smallest things. Climb on in and see how sometimes I am literally too exhausted to breathe properly. Climb on in but lucky you, after you feel the tiredness, after you feel the soreness, after you struggle with every breathe, you can leave. I can not, for this is my body, my hypothyroid, and this is now my life.
I keep wondering if I will ever get well. Living like this isn’t living, it is survival. No one ever seems to get better.
Wow. You nailed it. I have read so many articles about this thyroid challenge we face but none as simply and accurately stated as this one. I am sharing with my friends and family. Thank you.
Oh how I envy the energy of others. At times I have a few days of feeling great, and I think, “this is how it feels!” Then I’m down for two weeks 😞. Why can’t I be “normal”.
I am the same way…I can be feeling great for 2-3 days, and the next few weeks, it is hard to get out of bed. 😞
I do the same thing. I’ll have that burst of energy, a bit of normalcy and I’ll do so much and it just over exerts my everything. Then i get more depressed because I want to be THAT person, everyday. Doing things. “Normally.”
It’s so hard to feel alone in this.
It can feel so lonely, and while you don’t want to be a burden, the guilt of disappointing loved ones is more painful than the symptoms we live with every day. If they only really knew and that’s why this article is so on point.
It is difficult to understand anything to do with Thyroid issues for both sides, can be challenging for all parties involved. My fiancé has suffered for many years now, and I hate to admit it was hard for me to understand how a person so vibrant became very broken spirited in a short time before the diagnosis.
You have bursts of energy that don’t last, stress itself is multiplied for no reason, causing another storm!
We have a fantastic relationship, and love each other completely, so for us the “struggle” isn’t hurtful as she needs to feel supported and I need her to feel my support.
Anyone who does not support a patient of thyroid issues needs to spend 3 days awake, with no opportunity to wind down, de stress or rest, then the truth of what someone suffering thyroid issues will be alittle clearer.
But only a fake representation of what’s really going on.
I feel for those that suffer, and hope that I make a difference in my fiancé’s life trying to battle through her fight.
It’s important for every lucky person not suffering, to support and understand those that suffer without a cure.
I was born without thyroid so feeling horrible is my life story. The meds i take are not even good. Theres been a fda recall on thyroid meds but they still perscribe them. And we are still supposed to take them like they are really doing something good for somebody.
I am the same way…I can be feeling great for 2-3 days, and the next few weeks, it is hard to get out of bed. 😞
This is the story of my life.